Regular maintenance and cleaning of motorcycles is essential to extend their life, ensure safety, preserve value and prevent corrosion. It is forbidden to clean your motorcycle on the street or in the garden, but you can find a service station. Valuable advice is available for every part of your motorcycle.
Maintaining a motorcycle: what to do?
It is important to take care of your motorcycle throughout the year. Beyond washing, mechanical maintenance of the motorcycle is really necessary. In the motorcycle service manual, the frequency of checking certain indicators is specified and timely. However, in addition to these valuable checks, remember to check:
The oil level : if the level is not sufficient, add the oil little by little, up to the mark and replace the oil filter often enough to avoid the accumulation of impurities,Lighting: for safety , check regularly if the lights of your motorcycle are working properly,
Brakes : monitor the wear of the brake pads at least once a month and adjust the brake fluid level (to replace the brake pads, seek professional advice)
Tires : check the pressure level and adjust it with a special machine if necessary ,
The battery : check the state of your motorcycle battery more regularly than that of a car to avoid any breakdowns,
Engine oil change and gearbox oil change : change the oil filter to prevent dirt from stagnating and drain the coolant and gearbox as well as the fork oil,
1. Degrease the motorcycle
We therefore start by degreasing the very dirty wheels with specific degreasing products. In the efficient genre, there is dishwashing liquid and the garden hose. Be careful, however, not to overdo it, because as everyone knows, the dishwashing product foams profusely and can sometimes leave a sticky appearance.
The best thing is to use a microfiber glove to apply the product without scratching the car. On this subject, we prohibit kitchen sponges with the scraping part or scouring products and cream which will systematically scratch the body of the motorcycle.
2.Avoid the high pressure lance!
The high-pressure lance is certainly practical for cleaning quickly, but it is not recommended for a motorcycle! Paintwork and decorative stickers can suffer, with the risk of causing unwanted corrosion later. In addition, pressurized water may enter where it should not (for example, in electrical circuits when water and electricity do not mix!)
3.Wash the motorcycle cold
This advice is to be followed in every sense of the word! Not only do you have to wait for the motorcycle to cool down after use, but it is also best to wash the motorcycle with cold water. In the first case, it is because the metal parts expand with the heat, the cold water may cool too suddenly and therefore contract them, ultimately weakening them. In the second case, it is because contrary to popular belief, the mud leaves better with cold water than with hot water.
4.Use specific products
Take care of your motorcycle and, for this, opt for products dedicated to cleaning this vehicle. Indeed, they are designed on purpose not to scratch the motorcycle; they are not corrosive, they degrease the parts that need it, they rinse easily, etc. Thus, it is important to pay the price to avoid disappointment.
5.Choose the right cloth!
Once again, it’s a question of not scratching your motorcycle which can be fragile in the face of maintenance and a little tough cleaning. To do this, use a soft, damp cloth that will leave no traces.
6. Avoid the sun
The heat of the sun weakens the paint of the motorcycle, and the passage of a cloth could scratch it all the more. When cleaning, it is therefore advisable to go in the shade. You can put it back in the sun to dry the exterior, the bodywork and each tire.
7. Don’t let water settle
In general, the motorcycle does not like humidity. It is necessary to wash it but it must not insinuate itself in the hollow parts such as the exhausts for example. It might rust. So once the motorcycle has been rinsed, let the engine run for a few minutes to dry it from the inside!
8. Wax to shine
Small final touch to sublimate the motorcycle and make it like new: apply a dedicated wax to the metal surfaces of the motorcycle. With its polished chrome, it will shine like a sub-new!
9. Lubricate the mechanical elements
The bike shouldn’t jam either. So, the ultimate action to maintain the motorcycle, once it is washed and dried, apply a lubricant to the cables, the stand axles and the chain.
10. Do a big cleaning and some smaller ones
The idea is not to wear out your machine by washing it too much. On the other hand, small touch-ups between two major cleanings are welcome: each time you return from your walk, you can, for example, take the time to remove stuck-on insects (it’s easier when they are not completely dry!) or else clean muddy tires, whether it’s a dirt bike or not.
Now that you have all the keys to washing your motorcycle properly, all you need to do is deck yourself out with a sponge, rags, cleaning products and degreasers to start cleaning.
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